The Everafter War (21 page)

“Look at all these doors!” Pinocchio cried as he and Sabrina soared through the Hall of Wonders aboard Aladdin’s carpet. “How many do you think there are?”

“I’m not sure,” Sabrina said. “My grandmother said there were hundreds but she wasn’t sure herself.”

“What do you suppose is in all of them?”

Sabrina shrugged. “For the most part … trouble.”

“It must be fascinating to have the keys at your leisure,” the boy said. “I have to admit I’m quite envious of the freedoms and responsibilities your family has granted you. I have found myself held back at nearly every turn. It can be quite perplexing.”

Sabrina laughed. “You’ve got one big vocabulary there.”

Pinocchio blushed. “I’ve picked up a few words here and there.”

Sabrina could see she had embarrassed the boy and she apologized. It was clear that he wanted to speak further, but he was so odd he made her uncomfortable. She decided to focus on the lesson and try to avoid any conversation. The boy was a good pupil. He took to the carpet very well and within minutes he had reached a comfort and control that surpassed Sabrina’s. It wasn’t long before she realized there was nothing more she could teach him. He seemed to have sensed it, too, and he returned to his angry rant.

“Being so young in appearance has been nothing short of frustrating,” the boy said. “You must be able to understand. Adults presume that since you look like a child you have the interests of a child, or worse, need to be protected like one. Father forbade me from learning to operate this carpet. It was only after much begging that he agreed to let me take a ride with you.”

“Well, adults are good at making rules, but I guess it’s usually to keep kids safe,” Sabrina said.

Pinocchio scowled. “Well, I am not exactly a child. I’m nearly two hundred and fifty years old. At least my mind is! I have the interests of a full-grown man. I have a passion for art and music, culture, and politics. Besides this stupid, childish form I am an adult in every way!”

The rug seemed to sense his anger and it dipped and flipped, crashing to the ground and sending the children skidding across the floor. Aside from a bump on the head, Sabrina was uninjured. Pinocchio seemed fine as well.

“The carpet likes its driver to be calm,” Sabrina explained.

Pinocchio blushed again. “I apologize.”

Sabrina shrugged. “I get plenty mad sometimes. Don’t worry about it.”

She crossed the hall to fetch the rug, which had slid against one of the many doors. This one was not unlike the one on the front of Granny’s house: It was red with a stone set into the wood. The stone had a hand carved into it. On the floor below was a woven mat with the word “Welcome.” Once she had the rug in her hand she looked at the brass plaque on the door to find out what was inside, but unlike all the other doors in the hall, there was nothing inscribed on it.

“That’s odd,” Sabrina said.

“What’s odd?” Pinocchio said.

“There’s nothing to tell you what’s in this room,” Sabrina said as she studied the door. “And there’s no hole for a key.”

Pinocchio didn’t seem interested. “Perhaps we should get back to the fort. Is it too much to ask that we walk?”

Sabrina rubbed the bump on her head gingerly. “Sure.”

One step into the real world and Sabrina’s throat was filled with smoke. Pained cries of the wounded came from every direction. Dozens of Everafters were being carried into the fort on stretchers. The soldiers had returned.

“What happened?” she asked, but the soldiers were either too busy or too exhausted to explain. They rushed past her, jostling her amongst their ranks like a pinball.

“Close the gates!” Charming shouted when everyone was inside. The guards quickly slammed the immense doors and braced them tightly with a bar as big as a tree. The prince commanded everyone to take a position around the fort wall in case the Hand had followed them from the battle.

“What happened, William?” Granny Relda asked as soon as she could reach him.

Charming scowled. “They knew we were coming. They were ready and they beat us badly. I have no idea how many are wounded or dead.”

“That can’t be!” Daphne cried. “How could they know?”

“It can be and it is,” Uncle Jake said, his face full of disgust. “Nottingham and his thugs were on us the second we arrived. They seemed to understand our whole strategy and countered it at every move. If I didn’t know better I would think Nottingham had been part of the planning.”

“Do you think the guy who’s causing all the trouble inside the fort could be a spy, too?” Sabrina asked.

“Hush, child!” Charming snapped.

Nurse Sprat raced to the group. “I can’t handle all of these people,” she said. “There’s only one of me.”

“I’ll help,” Granny said. “I worked for the Red Cross during the war. I can dress a wound as well as anyone.”

“You can count on all of us,” Veronica added.

The rest of the day Sabrina and her family ran for medicine, helped bathe patients, and did whatever they could to make the suffering Everafters comfortable. There were twenty critically wounded people and dozens more in need of stitches or a splint for a broken bone. Robin Hood’s close friend Will Scarlet had been hurt badly. Little Boy Blue had two broken ribs. Sadly, a few of the Everafters died while poor Nurse Sprat tried to save them, including Frau Pfefferkuchenhaus. The gingerbread witch had taken a blow to the head and had fallen into the river, and she was too far gone for Nurse Sprat’s skills.

The nurse wept, cursing the Master and his Scarlet Hand. “I’m not a trained doctor,” she cried. “I can only do so much.” No one blamed her. They were grateful for what she could do and at the end of the day she managed to save the lives of sixteen people.

Exhausted, Sabrina and her family stumbled back to the Hall of Wonders. There they found a hundred and fifty or so soldiers, all of whom looked beaten and afraid. Charming, Ms. White, Mr. Seven, and Mr. Canis looked over them like shepherds watching a flock.

Mirror met the family when they arrived. “I hear that things did not go well.”

Uncle Jake nodded. “It’s true.”

“Charming has asked that we all meet. He says he has a new plan,” Mirror replied.

“New plan!” Henry exclaimed. “The last plan nearly got everyone killed.”

“Relda, perhaps you can talk some sense into him,” Mirror said. “The prince can’t send these people into battle again. They’re not soldiers. Does he think that a collection of princesses, talking animals, and elderly witches can beat back the Master?”

“Shut up, Mirror,” Uncle Jake said.

The little man was dumbfounded. “Jacob, I—”

“We are in the middle of a war, Mirror. If you come in here talking about how it’s hopeless, you are going to crush them. They know it went badly. Leave it at that,” Jake said, then stormed off into the crowd. Mirror shook his head but didn’t say any more.

Standing in the front of the crowd, Charming raised his hand until he had everyone’s attention. “Tomorrow we march on the sheriff’s office.”

A gasp went through the crowd.

“This is madness,” Puss in Boots declared.

The Scarecrow joined in. “My calculations tell me we have a ten percent chance of surviving another confrontation with the Hand.”

“That’s suicide,” Ichabod Crane shouted, nursing a wounded arm. “You saw what they did to us. We’re no match for them!”

Charming ignored their protests.

“The sheriff’s office is a central planning base for the Hand. If we can destroy the office we take a valuable asset from the enemy. My hope is that we can capture Nottingham as well. To accomplish this I believe we need a four-pronged attack.”

“You and your four-pronged attacks!” Morgan le Fay cried bitterly.

Charming continued. “The first attack comes from the Pied Piper, who will use his abilities to command rats and squirrels to infest the office, driving Nottingham and whoever else might be inside out into the open. We assume the offices will be filled with card soldiers. My spies have informed me the Jack of Spades and the Three of Diamonds were seen going into the office this morning. Once they are in the street, the second attack comes from the sky. Buzzflower and Mallobarb will lead a squadron of flying wizards and sorceresses over the crowd, zapping as many as they can with their magic wands. The third attack will commence with Goldilocks and the three bears, along with an army of intelligent animals, going after Nottingham. And finally in our fourth prong, Mr. Seven will deliver the final blow by leading our knights, archers, and swordsmen into the fray.”

“Charming, listen to reason,” Beauty begged. The poor woman was nearly in tears and her little dog was yapping in panic. “Are you determined to get us all killed?”

The prince’s jaw stiffened but he didn’t get to respond. Snow White stepped forward, and there was fire in her eyes.

“Charming has told you the truth!” she said. “You have two choices. Fight or die under the heel of the Master. That’s it. There are no other alternatives. Now, I know you wish someone else could do it for you, but that’s not going to happen either. So it’s time to grow up. You people have received your orders. If I hear another one of you crybabies questioning them, I’m going to make you wish you had died at the marina!”

The crowd grew quiet.

“The fort is not safe tonight,” Snow continued. “All of you will camp in the Hall of Wonders. Get some sleep. We march at dawn.”

enry shook his head in disbelief. “I think everyone has lost their minds.”

He turned and found Granny Relda crying into her hands and shaking uncontrollably. Sabrina and Daphne raced to her side and hugged her tightly.

“Those poor people,” she said. “I can’t give them any hope. Billy won’t change his mind and he shouldn’t. We all have to fight, tooth and nail, or we are all doomed.”

“It’s going to be OK, Mom,” Henry said, resting his hand on her shoulder.

“No, it’s not!” she cried angrily. “Look about you. Of all the craziness this town has been through, have you ever seen Ferryport Landing like this? It has never been this bad. But you want to run off, back to your New York City. You would leave if you could—just when they need us the most.”

Henry said nothing. He looked around at his family and walked away by himself.

“Veronica, I’m sorry,” the old woman said. “I’m very tired.”

“He’ll be OK,” Veronica said.

Sabrina wasn’t so sure. When he didn’t come back for an hour, she went looking for him. She searched through the Hall of Wonders and didn’t find him anywhere. He wasn’t at the camp or the Hotel, either. Sabrina suspected he might have gone back to Granny’s house for a little privacy. There was no way she could walk all the way back to the house’s portal, so she looked for Mirror, who could take her in the trolley. She found him inside the Room of Reflections, pulling a shard of a mirror from one that was shattered. When he saw Sabrina he slipped it into his pocket and snatched a broom.

“Good, I could use a hand,” he said as he pointed to a mop and a bucket on the far side of the room. The bucket was filled with steaming, soapy water. Sabrina took the mop and ran it over the floor that Mirror had swept. “People have been tracking mud and leaves in here all day. You’d think some of them grew up in a barn.”